wineblurbs

We ate dinner at Trata at the Armory on Sunday evening. It was my first time there. I read all the reviews on Yelp which appeared to be mixed. I was excited to see the space as I have always been intrigued by the Armory building. I remember skating at Cobbs Hill as a child and looking over at the mystery building. I was always curious about the fact that “prisoners” were housed there before I was born.

I never saw the “before” pictures but I have to believe the building was in horrible condition. The renovated space is impressive. I loved the industrial vibe of the décor. It is worth a visit just to check out the architecture. The bar is spacious and very inviting. Our server couldn’t be more friendly and accommodating. I found the wine by the glass menu to be a huge disappointment. She poured me a taste of the Irony Pinot Noir from California ($8/glass). It had no resemblance to a Pinot Noir…perhaps the winery added some Syrah to the blend. I moved on to the LZ Rioja from Spain (Tempranillo grape). At $10/glass it was not much better. I had really wanted to order a bottle of red wine as the bottle choices were much better. Four other people were joining us and I wasn’t sure if they would prefer one of the vast beers on the menu or a cocktail. I wish I had gone with the bottle. Luck would have it that they all wanted red wine so I pushed my Rioja aside and ordered a bottle of the Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon ($50). It was a winner. It was an excellent choice with everyone’s burgers..not so great with my fish tacos. There were some other decent wines on the menu for less money. I just don’t understand why a restaurant with seemingly sophisticated taste would choose to have such uninteresting wines by the glass? I would probably hesitate to meet anyone for a drink at Trata as there were no reds by the glass that I would enjoy. Let’s hope they bring in some better choices: Chinon (Cabernet Franc) from France; A to Z Pinot Noir from Oregon perhaps; Cotes du Rhone from France; Italian Cabernet Sauvignon/Sangiovese Blend…